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Foreign visitors to HCM City increase 18.7 percent 03 March 2008 Vietnam’s southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City welcomed 620,000 foreign visitors in the first two months of this year, posting an increase of 18.7 percent year-on-year. The number included 150,000 overseas Vietnamese, who returned home for lunar New Year (Tet) festival, representing an increase of 15 percent over last year. The US and Japan were recorded as the biggest markets for the city’s tourism sector. They were followed by Taiwan , the Republic of Korea , Australia , China , France , Singapore , Malaysia and Canada . In February, 85,000 people from Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbourhoods traveled abroad, with Singapore , Malaysia , China , Thailand , Cambodia , Australia and the US being the most popular destinations. According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam welcomed more than 860,000 foreign visitors in the first two months. Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh said the country is expected to attract 5 million foreign visitors, provide services for 21 million local travelers and earn a revenue of 64 trillion VND from tourism this year. These are important figures to help the tourism sector achieve its targets of 5.5-6 million foreign visitors, 25 million domestic tourists, 4.5-5 billion USD in revenue by 2010, Tuan added. Source: VNA